What's the Best Way to Get Comcast to Lower My Bill?

Many Comcast and Xfinity customers become frustrated with high monthly bills for their Internet, cable and phone bills. This frustration can be intensified after a promotional discount ends and bills begin to skyrocket. It can be challenging to get Comcast to lower your bill, but it is not impossible, particularly if you are willing to carefully plan your case for a price reduction.

Prepare to Contact Comcast

Getting Comcast to lower your bill is not a straightforward process. This is because Comcast has trained its employees to deflect bill reduction requests. You should be aware of the tactics that Comcast uses, and be prepared to resist them. In addition, you will also want to be able to make your case for a lowered bill.

Comcast's Tactics

When you contact Comcast, look out for the following tactics that allow the company to avoid renegotiating your bill:

1. The first customer service representative to whom you speak will likely tell you that you are getting the lowest pricing possible. They will do this even if you asked to reduce your services by choosing a cable package with fewer channels, or you opt to cut the cord entirely and just maintain your Internet service. When you ask why there will be no savings, they will tell you that you got a package discount price and that reducing or cutting services will require you to pay full price for your existing services. Many customers get discouraged at this stage and give up. Don't be one of them.

2. If you have any complaints about your service, and offer these complaints as reasons for wanting to reduce your bill, you might find the customer service representative instead tries to sell you a different set of services. The representative may tell you that you can expect better speeds, more bandwidth or greater connectivity with the new package. The package may not, however, actually cost less and even if it does, this will be a promotional price that will go up significantly at the end of the contract.

3. Another variation on #2 is the "goodwill" offer of a free or low cost trial of a premium movie channel. Within a few months after taking advantage of this offer, you will find yourself paying full price for this service.

4. Tempted to threaten to cancel all of your services if you don't get your discount? Think again: Customer service representatives are trying to send you over to the retention department where you will have to deal with a high pressure, often uncooperative, representative who will try to talk you out of cancellation.

Preparing Your Case

The truth is that Comcast is absolutely in a position to lower your bill, even if you don't cancel any of your existing services. If you do cancel your existing services, they have even less of an excuse for not substantially reducing your monthly payment.

1. You want to begin preparing your case for a lowered bill by doing some research on what the company is currently offering in terms of promotional pricing. You can get this information online, or by checking out direct mail pieces, newspaper advertisements, or flyers that will periodically show up at your home. Make note of what Comcast is charging new customers for a package similar to the one that you have.
2. Next, start researching the competition. If there are other Internet and cable providers in your area, it is likely that they will be advertising for new business. Again, take note of packages and pricing. Make sure, however, that the package being offered is comparable to the one that you currently have with Comcast. This means checking things like Internet speeds, data caps, bandwidth, as well as the number of channels you get with a cable package. If you use Comcast for your phone service, check to see which special features you have, such as call waiting or call forwarding, to make sure that you are comparing apples to apples before making calling Comcast customer service.
3. Review your Comcast statements. Take note of what you were paying a year ago for the same package: If it is substantially lower than what you are paying now, you can use that as a guideline for your discount.
4. Decide in advance what you want to pay for your services. Having a goal in mind will ensure a more successful call or customer service chat.

Contacting or Calling Comcast

After preparing your case for a reduced bill, choose whether you want to contact Comcast via chat or phone. It's up to you, some people feel more comfortable communicating in writing, while others prefer to call. From there, prepare to be on the phone for the better part of an hour. This could be due to long wait times as well as the fact that you may have to spend a fair amount of time in negotiations with the customer service representatives that you end up speaking to.

Be polite at all times. Keep in mind that the person on the other end of the phone or the chat box is a human being with feelings. In addition, this person is simply following the instructions of his or her employer. If you are polite but firm, you are more likely to achieve your goals, as these representatives are often appreciative of being treated with respect and may be willing to do something for you. In addition, being rude could result in your call ending prematurely, requiring you to start the process over again.

Begin your request simply. Explain that you can no longer afford your bill and want it reduced. If the customer service representative tells you that you are getting the lowest possible price, counter with what you know is currently being offered to new customers. If you are told that this is a promotional price, tell the representative that you want that particular price as a reward for being a good customer.

If the representative refuses to lower your price, note that competitors are offering a better deal. Quote the exact deal and the exact price and ask the representative to match it.

In cases where you are open to reducing or discontinuing some services, tell the representative that you want a different, lower-priced package. Prepare for pushback, but at this point you are in a better position because you can point out that you should be paying less for fewer services. Be aware that for many companies, threatening to cancel your cable TV service is unlikely to result in a significant reduction in your bill. This is because consumers have been cutting the cord for a long time and many of these companies see themselves primarily as providers of Internet service and "smart home" options. Threatening to cancel internet is more likely to get Comcast's attention.

If the representative refuses to work with you, explain that you plan to cancel your service. Ideally, you should only do this if you are aware of other Internet and cable providers in your area. This is a more difficult step to take if there is no real competition in your community.

As noted above, at this point your call will be transferred to a retention specialist. Be aware, however, that the retention specialist may not be called a "retention specialist": He or she may be identified as a cancellation specialist or a supervisor. In almost all cases, this person has been trying to get you to stay with Comcast.

Dealing with Retention Specialists

Getting referred to a retention specialist has advantages and disadvantages. The main disadvantages at the retention specialist is in the business of not listening to customers and giving you a hard sell to remain with Comcast. The advantage is that the retention specialist may be in a position to actually offer you a meaningful discount if you choose to stay.

Retention specialists are familiar with consumers threatening to cancel as a way of getting a better deal on their service. As a result, the retention specialist may not take you seriously when you begin your conversation. One way to keep the retention specialist off guard is to actually have a plan and the willingness to follow through on it.

Begin by saying that you wish to cancel your service. When the retention specialist asks why, note that you have been a good customer and you don't like being treated poorly. Explain that new customers are being offered pricing far below what you are currently paying, and you don't think that is fair. Quote these prices to the retention specialist. This shows that you have done your research and won't be easily fooled or dissuaded with standard tactics.

If you can't get the retention specialist to offer to match current promotional pricing, you can also explain that you have a better offer from a competitor. Again, name the competitor and the specific package and price that you are interested in. The retention specialist may, at this point, be willing to match that price.

Some retention specialist will refuse to budge at this point. In such a case, tell the retention specialist that you are canceling and that is final. Ask for instructions for returning any equipment that you might have. If the retention specialist box, be firm and ask him or her to not continue wasting any more of your time. From there, you can begin the cancellation process and sign up with a different service.

If you are having difficulty getting the retention specialist to cancel your service, hang up. Wait a day or two, and call to tell the company that you are canceling because you are moving. In some cases, they will try to get you to sign up for Comcast service at your new address. You can generally avoid this by telling them that you are moving out of the country.

Following-Up

If you do manage to negotiate a lower bill, be sure to follow up. Check your new bill and plan online to determine whether you are getting the rate that the representative promised you. If not, call Comcast back up and request that rate.

If you do cancel your service, be sure to follow through and return any equipment that Comcast has been renting to you. Failure to do this could result in your account going to collections.

Another consideration is that Comcast may, in a few months, come back to you with an offer to begin new service at a discounted rate. There are some consumers that routinely switch Internet and cable providers so that they can always get the best possible deal. If you have the time for this process, it can be one way of saving money on your services. Just be advised, however, that you may have to also pay for technician visits or spend time hooking up your services with a self-install kit.

Final Word

It would be great if Comcast offered transparent pricing and a willingness to work with customers. Unfortunately, the best way to avoid sticker-shock is to be very careful when selecting your initial Comcast package, which is of little help when you are already a customer. Persistence, research, and the willingness to undergo the inconvenience of occasionally canceling and switching services, may, however, result in you getting the pricing that you want and deserve.